Answering wide-reaching, complex questions from the public authorities often requires collaboration between different research disciplines and academic environments.

In order to secure interdisciplinary collaboration on science-based advice, Aarhus University has set up two national centres: the DCA - Danish Centre for Food and Agriculture and the DCE -Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, which together form the framework for collaboration with the ministries.

The centres coordinate science-based advice and help to ensure the quality of the advice; both in relation to the quality of the individual delivery, and in relation to ensuring that the overall consultancy is cohesive, interdisciplinary and consistent over time.

Who supplies science-based advice?

Eleven departments and centres are the main suppliers of research and consultancy to the authorities:

• Department of Agroecology
• Department of Ecoscience
• Department of Food Science
• Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
• Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering
• Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering
• Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Department of Environmental Science
• Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering
• Center for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics
• International Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems

In addition, contributions come from a number of other academic environments at AU, including the MAPP centre at Aarhus BSS.

The vice-dean for Outreach at Technical Sciences has overall responsibility for the area at the faculty.